Computer software applications allow users to create a variety of documents to assist them in work, education and leisure. For example, a word processing application allows users to create letters, articles, books, memoranda and the like. Spreadsheet applications allow users to store, manipulate, print and display a variety of a alphanumeric data. Internet-based web services applications allow users to access a variety of software applications and data over distributed computing environments. Such applications have a number of well-known strengths including rich editing, formatting, printing, calculation, data search and retrieval, and the like.
Prior to the advent of distributed computing environments including the Internet and intranets, a typical computer software or services user purchased or otherwise obtained a software application and loaded that application onto the user's computer for stand-alone use. When subsequent changes, revisions, patches, or improvements to the software application were developed, users typically were required to purchase the updated software application and load the application onto the user's computer. With the advent of distributed computing environments, a variety of distributed services such as Internet-based web services are now available to allow users to search for, download, and manipulate a variety of data and software applications. Thus, as an update or change to a given software application is developed, a user is often able to purchase the updated software from a provider via the distributed computing environment and download the software to the user's computer.
An extension to the capabilities provided to users via distributed computing environments is the ability of users to obtain web services and software applications on a subscription basis rather than on a purchase basis. For example, if a user desires to obtain the Internet-based web services of a particular news source and the word processing capabilities of a particular word processing software application, the user may be able to subscribe to the providers of each of those services/applications to have those services and/or applications provided to the user for a certain duration of time. Unfortunately, the process by which a user subscribes to various providers for services and software applications is cumbersome and time consuming where the user must contact each services and/or application provider, make payment to a billing system of the provider, and then obtain a license for use of the service or application from a separate licensing clearinghouse operated by the provider. If the user desires to update her license for a given service or application, the user is often required to contact a billing system of the provider to obtain additional use of the service or application in order to update the user's license.
It is with respect to these and other considerations that the present invention has been made.